Two rather odd photos today, neither one being what it was supposed to be!

Here are Max and Harry waiting for Charlie our resident blue-tongued lizard to emerge from under the shed. Malcolm puts out bits of fruit for him and he usually comes out and eats them as soon as they're there. You can see the bits of grape but not Charlie! The loud whispers of two excited children made him cower back in his den. So we went inside and had a game of junior Scrabble and when we came out the grape pieces had gone. One very crafty lizard!

This shot is even more odd. It was intended to be a shot of the garden, but something went very wrong. Instead I got a shot of Mike's reflection. He was watching me with the camera. And there is Malcolm clearly making a phone call! The strangest thing is a target on Mike's torso! I presume it's something in the shed. I must investigate!

More photos for Ruth. Mike has been immensely lucky with the weather so far. Our summer was very much delayed by the Queensland floods as we caught the tail-end of them in the form of weeks of dull weather, but ever since Mike (my cousin's son from the UK) arrived the weather has been perfect, even a little too hot. Yesterday we had our afternoon tea in King Edward Park.

Here is Mike and the Newcastle sky-line.

And here am I relaxing. My sun-hat looks a little like a 1920s cloche! I found these little cloth hats in a pharmacy and I bought three in different colours, because I can roll them up and shove them in a handbag. Floppy-brimmed hats are all very well, but they're a nuisance if the sun goes in. In any case, big hats make me look like a walking mushroom!

Tell me I'm a track for trains;Or a runway for your planes.I'm here! I'm here! Look at me! I'm great!Play with me! I can hardly wait!'
But then some clouds rubbed the shadow out!
Oh well, they'll just do without!
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Friday, January 28, 2011

They treat decapitation as a little interlude!
See how this jolly fellow smiles! He's definitely British!
The more he's pierced and knifed and cut the more he's growing skittish!

His foot's on fire! He's lost both legs! And his arms aren't too secure!

As for his head, it's been attacked by something like a skewer!

I see he's hanging by the neck! No wonder he's kaput!

His insides seem to be falling out! And a nail has pierced his foot!
I see there are 'illustrations'! I bet they're pretty gory!
'Read all about it!' Yes, indeed!
It's the gaping-inside story!
*-------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday was Australia Day. Not that we did anything particularly Australian, but we had a celebratory day anyway. The temperature soared to 38 degrees celsius, so it was fortunate that we had been invited to friend Vera's cool house! She and Angus were keen to re-meet Mike, our overseas visitor, and Allan, the genial next-door-neighbour we know well, was there as well. Vera produced a delicious meal in her usual capable manner.

Snacks in the lovely poolside room.

With Alfie, the dog, who, incidentally, chewed up a shoe of mine! I'd kicked my shoes off under the table (I know our hosts very well!) and Alfie ran off with one and destroyed it! Fortunately, it was an old shoe!

There it was again! My favourite word! 'Inexplicable'!﻿ It was in the headline today, which made the project so much more satisfactory! Usually 'my' word is just in the body of the account. But this time I got a headline........ 'Another Inexplicable Accident!' All very satisfying.

Ghosts are usually depicted as ethereal beings, rather misty and semi-human, wafting around emitting strange noises. Or they may be invisible, clattering cups, that sort of thing. None of that is my style. I always was an individualist!

I had been on my way to propose to Annabelle. We had only known each other a short while but I knew we were meant for each other. The ring, in its box, lay on the passenger seat. I glanced at it now and again as I drove along the snow-covered lane. Had I chosen wisely? Was it, maybe, too flashy for my lovely girl? I began to doubt my own taste; after all, everything had to be just right.

I stretched out my left hand to open the box and take one more look. This was a foolish thing to do on a slippery road. I realise that now. As I wrestled with the tiny clasp on the box, with one hand, I lost control of the car and it ploughed into the trees on my right.

It was after my death that the great bitterness engulfed me. As I began to re-form in The Great Dark a desire for revenge overtook my being. Why should other love-lives continue, when mine had been destroyed?

Gradually, the idea of The Arrow formed in my mind. I think I told you I was an individualist?

I choose my victims carefully. They must always be young lovers. Sometimes I have to wait for months, even years, before the ideal couples appear. Then I arrange myself as The Arrow, always pointing to the right.

I have had my failures, of course. Sometimes the young man at the wheel rubs his eyes, shakes his head in disbelief and drives on.

But yesterday was a triumph! I watched it all...... the sudden braking, the wild turning of the steering-wheel, the deaths!

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About Me

Born in England in 1931. Evacuated in World War 2. Trained as a teacher at Brighton Training College, Sussex. Taught in London. Moved to Zimbabwe. Seven years later worked on a mail ship. Married Malcolm in Capetown. Two children, Rebecca and Greg. Moved to Australia in 1974. After retirement worked for a publisher. Three grandsons, Blake, Harry and Max. Disabled by stroke in 2013. Now in wheelchair with husband as carer..